I read this story some time ago and it was told over the radio station not long ago. I just thought I’d share it with you all as well.
Some time ago there were two monks who had planted young olive trees at about the same time. Continue reading “Two Monks and an Olive Tree”
She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. –Proverbs 3:15
I am writing this for my beautiful daughters but it really could be directed to all of the women out there, young and old.
First and foremost, I want you to know how much I love you! I have loved you since before I even met you. I don’t want you to ever doubt that in any way. As your mother it is my responsibility to protect you and look out for you. Please don’t ever think that I am trying to be critical or trying to discourage you. I only want the best for you and if I say something about a guy you are interested in I am only being honest because I have learned some traits to look for and some traits to avoid. In the end I will be there for you no matter what and I want you to know that.
I want you to know how wonderful you are. Everything about you is perfect and I don’t want you to ever feel like it isn’t. How do I know that? Because God was your creator and He makes no mistakes. He has lovingly created you and He only wants the best for you because before you were my child you belonged, and still belong, to Him.
I know life is hard and especially when it come to the romance department it can be really tough. I want you to remember that you deserve the best in whoever your partner is. I want you to set your standards high because you don’t need to settle. You should never settle because God has someone in mind for you and that someone will not only meet those standards you set but he will exceed those standards. How do I know that? Because God has a plan for each of us. He loves us and truly only wants the best for us. He can do the impossible.
You deserve to be loved, but not just loved like the general idea of love, you deserve to be cherished. You deserve someone who is loyal and honest. You deserve someone who longs to be with you just as much as you long to be with them. You deserve someone who will look after your heart as they look after their own. If you will take your requests to God He will supply. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but according to His timing which is always right on time.
So for now I want you to take things slow. Learn to be patient and trust in the Lord. Develop your relationship with God because His love is the only perfect love. When you have a close relationship with God everything else will start to fall into place.
Use this time wisely. Ask God to help you and to show you the areas that need improvement. He is molding you and training you into the person He wants you to be. When we don’t give Him control then it makes this process so much more difficult.
Don’t just pray for yourself but pray for this future partner. You may not know him right now, you may live in different zip codes, or you may know him and not even think of him as ‘the one’. God knows who He is. Ask God to work in His life as He is working in your life. When you both are ready God will reveal him to you.
Don’t chase guys or waste time on guys who refuse to meet your standards because when God puts His plan into motion the right guy is gonna find you! I promise! I joked before that the guy for me would have to be driving the UPS or FedEx truck as I never went anywhere for anyone to find me. I was wrong. God put me where I needed to be and He will do the same for you.
Don’t let these guys tell you that your standards are too high! Don’t let them make excuses! Your standards are your standards and they have no right to judge them. This is just a sign that they are not the one for you. When you find the one God intends for you then you will be just what He was looking for, just as He will be just what you have been looking for.
Don’t settle because you think that you will be able to change them! That kind of change can only come from above. It is possible that the guy you like right now may be the guy God has chosen for you but it may be that God is not finished with him yet. God is working on the perfect man for you.
I may not be a relationship expert but I have made my fair share of mistakes when it comes to not waiting on God. I don’t want you to make those mistakes and deal with the heartache that goes along with them. Every heartbreak will leave a scar and will make it that much harder for you to love someone in the future.
I have faith that there is someone out there who is waiting for you. He has made his list and he knows what he is waiting for. You are worth the wait!
Daughters, you are beautiful, smart, funny, and wonderful. Anyone that thinks otherwise or puts you down is not someone you need to be with. Please remember that you are a daughter of the king and He wants what is best for you. If you trust in Him He will provide you with so much more than your heart can imagine.
I am praying for each of my children and their future/current spouses. Times are especially hard right now and it will be so much harder for our children to remain pure and to keep their focus on God.
Lord, I ask you today to watch over these young women. Show them how beautifully and wonderfully made they are. Lord, guard their hearts and keep them pure. Be with them as they wait on you and help them to develop the character traits that they will need for their roles as wives and mothers in the future.
Please watch over their future partners and protect them. Keep them pure, guard their hearts, and help them to keep their focus on You, Lord. Help these young men to develop the character traits that they will need to be the husbands and fathers they will need to be in the future.
Thank you for you mercy and grace on all of us. Amen!
Below are some links that young women and their parents can check out:
Having the Right Perspective When Praying for a Future Husband
Praying for Your Future Husband: Preparing Your Heart for His
How to use the Bible to Pray For Your Future (or Current) Spouse
6 Prayers For Finding A Godly Spouse
12 Ways to Pray for Your
Child’s Future Mate
Five Prayers for Your Daughter
Prayer for my daughter who seeks a relationship.
A prayer for my daughter to find a godly husband.
** Featured image is from Mr. Amari Soul on Facebook.
Good morning everyone! I was so exhausted this morning I slept through my alarm so I’m still sitting around in my ‘bump around’ shorts and a T-shirt… not the norm for me at all. That’s OK though. Everyone has had a yummy breakfast and some of the kids are reading, one is playing with legos, and another couple are watching some Saturday morning cartoons.
A lot of the area schools have been on Spring Break here. We did do some school work this week but it was kind of hit and miss as some storms and bad weather had our internet on the fritz. That’s a downside to living out in the country. We did however get a surprise visit from a friend we haven’t seen in awhile. It’s always a joy to have old friends come and visit. I find it amazing how kids can just pick right up where they left off months ago.
This past week has been a bit busy as Momma had 3 dances to go to! Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. It has all been so much fun! Monday was my first ‘away’ kind of event and there were a lot more dancers than I normally see. They had the chance to earn a ‘dangle’ for dancing a tip while holding an ice cream cone! There are so many interesting things that they do at these dances!
Tuesdays are the normal class nights and it is amazing to see how far everyone has come as a class. I am so looking forward to graduation and learning new calls and styles. There is so much to learn I have said it is almost like learning a second language. The great thing is that you don’t have to learn it all and you get as advanced as you like or feel comfortable with. Personally I want to learn as much as I can and I want to learn the fancy stuff that goes along with the basic stuff too. I find square dancing so fascinating!
Then Friday night was a St.Patrick’s Day dance. I love parties, especially decorating and putting them together. This time, however, I only brought a few decorations and some Key Lime Cookies (Betty Crocker box mix). I also wore one of the vintage dresses I found on Etsy. It was so cute! Everyone wore green and brought all kinds of green refreshments. Most importantly though we all had a wonderful time. There was a new class starting up also and we are hoping to have more people come next week. I encourage anyone and everyone to check out the classes that may be offered in your area.
Today we are planning a small cookout with family and a few friends. I need to get my lazy self into the shower so I can get to the grocery store and pick up a few things. I am so glad I did that big monthly grocery shop earlier as my weekly shopping trips have been sporadic.
God is so good! Try to remember that He makes no mistakes and He has a plan for each and every one of us. If we will only let go of the plans we have and let Him take control He will bless us and work wonders in our lives that we could never have imagined! I try my best to thank Him everyday, several times a day, for all the blessings He has poured out on us and for all the ways He continues to work in our lives. I pray that each and everyone of you can look back on your week and see how God has blessed you and touched your lives.
May God bless each and everyone of you!
I’ve been reading a lot about Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz. It is one of the most beautiful love stories told in the Bible. It shows how God can use the most tragic of circumstances, the poorest of the poor, and the most humblest people to fulfill His great plans. It shows God’s power and control of our lives, even when we don’t understand what is going on in our lives.
For me, this really hits home. No, I haven’t been widowed, but I am alone. I have been transplanted to a place where I knew almost no one but I am not struggling to get by on a daily basis. Or am I? I do have my struggles but I don’t think they would ever compare to the struggles that Ruth and Naomi faced. Nor do I ever feel that I would be worthy of the blessings that were bestowed upon them.
I do however have hope that there is one out there for me. My ‘Boaz’, if you will. Over the past few months I have met a few men that displayed the character traits of Boaz. I am not talking about men who were rich landowners as I rarely ask about a person’s occupation or income. I am talking about men of integrity and faith. Men that are genuinely kind and give without expecting anything in return. Men that I would consider to be of good moral character and who I would trust to lead my family.
Time and time again I have been let down. There have been various reasons, sometimes they get tired of keeping up the false front, sometimes I may have been to blame in some ways. I know that feelings of rejection can creep up from hurts I’ve had before and affect the way I feel. I do have a hard time trusting people when I’ve opened up my heart to them and they use my weaknesses against me. This is not what my real Boaz would do, he would never want to hurt me or see me hurt. He would want to guard my heart and wipe my tears, not be the cause for them. I still have faith and hope that God is working and I will keep waiting and praying for this man.
I try to pray daily for him even though I don’t know who he is, where he is, or what he is doing. What am I praying for? I pray that he will love God more than anything else and that he will pursue his relationship with God above everything else. I am praying for his health, safety, and protection. I am praying that God will work in his life to help him develop the traits and character qualities, like humility and integrity, that will bring honor and glory to God. I pray that God will guide him to be the leader that I will need him to be. I pray that God will teach him how to love, unconditionally, as he will need to accept my children unconditionally if he is truly my Boaz. I pray that he is successful in whatever he sets his mind to and that God will bring him peace and rest after his hard work. I pray that he is surrounded by friends and family that support him.
I also try to pray that God will shape me and mold me into the person that my Boaz will need me to be. I want to be ready for whenever he comes my way. I pray that God will teach me to be a good help meet. I pray that God will help me to develop the qualities that he will need from me so that I can support and encourage him. I pray that I will be the love of his life, and he will be mine also. I pray that God will give me wisdom and discernment in the choices I am making now that may affect my future. I pray for the strength to overcome any weaknesses I have and that they can be turned into strengths. I pray that I will learn to love unconditionally and accept him for who he is. I pray that God will heal my heart from my past relationships and not allow those feelings to creep into future relationships.
God knows me better than I know myself. He knows my needs and my wants. He knows my strengths and weaknesses. He knows my likes and my dislikes. He knows what I need and when I need it. He shows me glimpses of traits and qualities that my Boaz will have and He gives me hope and encouragement. I trust that He will bring my Boaz along in His perfect timing according to His will and plan for me.
I pray for patience and faith while I am in this state of waiting. I am not actively searching for My Boaz because I know that God will put me where I need to be for him to find me. Who knows maybe he has already found me and God is still working on us before He opens ours eyes to see the plan He has in store for us?
Did you know that the word gratitude comes from the word ‘gratus’ which also gives us the word grace? I didn’t know this until recently but I know that they sure do go hand in hand. It is hard to have one without the other.
I know life can get you down. We can fall into a pit of despair and have pity party after pity party when we think of all the bad things that have happened to us. It is OK to be upset or feel sad when something bad happens. We need to feel it and get over it. We have to make the conscious choice to get over it.
If we don’t then we get stuck in the negativity of everyday life. We will start to look for things to be upset with or to complain about. Complaining to everyone who will listen helps us to feel justified in feeling the way we feel. But it also keeps us from seeing the blessings that are all around us.
So your car broke down and you were late for work because you had to wait for a tow truck. Instead of looking at it in a negative way try to be thankful, the tow truck driver is. He needed that call to pay for his daughter’s dental appointment. It is also possible that delay could’ve saved you from an accident down the road.
When we dwell on the negatives it is sinful. It is something that Satan wants to keep us from experiencing the grace of God. The bible tells us to give thanks for everything. It doesn’t say to give thanks for the things we perceive as good, or just when we get what we want. We need to give thanks even when it’s hard to understand why something has happened.
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.- 1 Thessalonians 5:18
I am constantly reminding myself that I am only seeing a small part of the big plan that God has in mind for my life. Maybe, just maybe, He needs to use these inconveniences to help me change my course or to keep me from tripping and falling into sin. I always try to remember that when He says ‘No’ to something that I’ve asked for it is usually because He has something much better in store for me down the road.
Just thinking about that gets me excited! I mean most of the times I am asking for something that seems really wonderful at the moment. Yes, I feel a little disappointment when it doesn’t happen but then curiosity takes hold. I have to wonder what could possibly be better than what I had in mind? I get a little anxious but I know that God only wants the best for me and He will reveal His plan in His time. He feels the same about each of His children.
I know how hard it is to feel grateful when you are sitting on the side of the road in a car that just won’t go but try to give thanks in every situation and every circumstance that you find yourself in. So the next time you find yourself complaining or throwing a pity party try to think of something to be thankful for. It will get easier the more you do it and before you know it your whole attitude will turn around and you will be so much happier. Your eyes will be opened to the blessings of God’s grace that surround you each and every day.
When we obey our Lord then we are showing Him our gratitude for the grace He has shown to us. Just think about how you feel when someone thanks you for something that you’ve done. It pleases God the same way when we thank Him for the many ways He has blessed our lives.
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